Pearl, of the Rebellion
by DannyFenton123
Summary: Pearl was at the end of their usefulness to White Diamond when they met Rose Quartz. Having been a servant all of their life, Pearl cannot understand why Earth has changed this once-loyal warrior into a kindhearted rebel... nor why they want so badly to join them, to learn the ways of the sword and start fresh on Earth.
1. Swordplay

Pearl held their breath.

"A pretty one, isn't she?"

"Nothing too pretty for you, my diamond."

"You have outdone yourself with your newest Pearl designs, Emerald Facet-1T2J Cut-2FU. Such pretty, thin legs. I will see that you are rewarded for your efforts. Now-"

It was then that the pearl before the White Diamond began to wobble on their pretty, thin legs. They shook like leaves in the wind.

"Emerald," The diamond's voice hardened. "What is going on with this pearl?"

"I-I don't- she didn't do this before..."

The pearl, sweating from every pore of their body, suddenly collapsed under the weight of their body and faceplanted into the ground.

Pearl gave a tiny exhale of relief as their mistress turned on the shaking emerald.

"Look at my current pearl."

"I can easily remedy this, my di-"

"Look at my current pearl."

The emerald begrudgingly turned. They looked not at Pearl's eyes, but through them.

"I draw your attention to her legs. Being one thousand years old, her design may be obsolete and in need of replacement but there is one aspect I still find charming."

"A-and what is-"

" _She stands_! Unlike your..." White Diamond eyed the snivelling Pearl who could not rise above a kneeling position. "creation. Once the Great Diamond Authority agrees to enforce Utilitarian Life, I'll personally oversee her smashing. For now, though, her useless life is protected. Leave her in the streets."

Pearl could feel their stick-legged sister's eyes boring into their face. Cautiously, they looked down and flashed a sorry smile before returning to their original position.

The emerald spoke up. "I have some other designs, if my diamond wishes-"

"No. You have disgraced yourself and wasted my time with this defective pearl. Neither I nor my court shall have need of your services again. My pearl, open the door."

Pearl almost leaped out of their skin to obey.

The emerald's eye twitched, and they forced a smile. "V-very well. Goodbye!"

The White Diamond turned on their heel and stalked out of the door, Pearl following obediently behind. There, three Smoky Quartz bodyguards were waiting; upon seeing them exit, they fell in step slightly behind White Diamond and well ahead of Pearl.

Then they made their way through the Court of White Diamond to their palace. To the untrained eye the place was blinding, but Pearl had long become accustomed to the shimmering crystal decorations. All around, startlingly bright houses home to the most distinguished Gems distracted the observer from the dark alleyways between.

That was where that pearl with the too-thin legs would live out the rest of their millennia. And when White Diamond found a replacement for Pearl, it would be there they would live – at least, they hoped...

Stop. Pearl gulped down the sudden wave of fear, trying their best to not think about the future. Instead, they straightened their shoulders, lifted their chin and fixed their eyes on the collar of the Smoky Quartz soldier marching ahead. They even transferred a little bit of power to their gem, making it sparkle almost like a diamond. Anything to make themselves appear a little more confident than they felt.

This continued until they reached the front gates of White Diamond's palace, where two soldiers held the door open for White Diamond. The three then closed it and stood stoically in front of it, staring straight ahead. Pearl went around the back, where the servant's entrance was, and let themselves in. This was the smallest room in the enclosure, with two doors: one leading to White Diamond's study and the other to the atrium, where a select number of respected Gems were occasionally invited.

Almost immediately, a short bell rang from White Diamond's study. Pearl scurried over to where their mistress was seated, and bowed deeply.

"My diamond."

"My pearl... for now." White Diamond did not bother to look at Pearl when speaking to them. "I shall be expecting a visit from one of my most valued generals. They have returned from a long trip evaluating the planet Earth as a potential colony, and I loathe to present her with such an outdated pearl as yourself. However, as the replacement I was anticipating turned out to be defective, you will have to do. Apologize for yourself when you answer the door."

"Yes, my diamond." Pearl turned to go.

"Also." Pearl turned in surprise to see their mistress actually looking at them with those cold, dead diamond eyes. "I noticed how you walked today, after discovering your replacement to be defective. Confidently. Beautifully."

Pearl's eyes brightened. Was this... a compliment?

"Like you were anything more than a common pearl." White Diamond's eyes narrowed. "Make no mistake. You've outlived your expiration date, and your knowledge of my secrets is grounds for shattering."

Pearl's face twitched. "Yes, my diamond."

"Leave me."

"Yes, my diamond."

Pearl, feeling something rise up in their chest, skipped towards the door and very nearly slammed it behind them. They began to cry then, and hugged themselves, sliding down the wall and curling up into a foetal position, their shoulders rocking as they sobbed silently. Because they were going to be shattered, they were going to die at only one thousand years old...

And there Pearl stayed for a while, until they had run out of tears to shed. Then they picked themselves up, wiping their face. They most likely looked a mess; there was a mirror in the atrium that might help them freshen up before their guest arrived. So, cautiously, they opened the door or the servant's room and stepped out.

The atrium was truly massive, an empty space fit for the conference of even the four diamonds. Decoration - mostly weapon racks - were situated around the edge of the room.

The mirror was at the other end and Pearl wasted no time in getting to it. They straightened out their dishevelled hair and wiped away their tears, and tried for a shaky smile.

Not half bad. Pearl bowed to their reflection and backed away, saying quietly, "I live to serve."

That was when their foot struck a rack, which tumbled to the ground with a loud crash. Pearl squeaked in fear and jumped back before they stepped forwards and picked it up again, casting a nervous eye towards White Diamond's door.

Their mistress didn't appear to have heard. Pearl was just about to sneak off again when they noticed a sword had been left on the ground. It was a sabre; it had a double-edged thin, long blade with a golden hand guard and hilt.

Pearl carefully picked it up, holding it by the grip with the blade pointing away from her. They stayed poised over the weapon rack for a second, caught in a sudden indecision.

They should put it away, now, and run back to their room before anybody was any the wiser. But nobody came in this atrium unless White Diamond wished it, and the only one Pearl had been notified of was the visitor from Earth. They were a pearl, they weren't supposed to use, much less touch a sword. But something about this weapon felt right in their hands, like this was how it was supposed to be.

If they were caught, they would be shattered. But that was already to be their fate. So, with nothing to lose, Pearl stepped out of line, towards the centre of the atrium.

With no formal training in the way of the sword, Pearl tried out a wild slash. It came down too close to their feet and they jumped back, the point scraping against the floor. Steadying themselves, they tried out a slower stab, moving their feet forwards as they did. They felt the power in their thin joints, and it brought a smile to their face.

Stepping forwards once more into a wide stance, Pearl imagined they were battling with some great foe, and pretended to block their attack from above. They thrust again, eyes bright, and then slashed, this time angling the strike so it wasn't aiming for a foot.

Thrown slightly off balance by the inexperienced moves, Pearl jumped to the side, then tucked and rolled to a standing position. How did they do that? They didn't know, they didn't care. They faced their fantasy foe head on, no longer a servant but a fierce, fearless warrior, and kicked before whirling around and-

"Oh, my stars!" Pearl's blade struck something hard, throwing the servant out of their imagination. They cried out, lost their footing and fell onto the ground, the sword having been knocked out of their hand and clattered to the floor a ways away.

Pearl covered their face from where they had fell. "Don't hurt me! I'm so sorry, I-I meant no harm, I got carried away!"

"No, no." A soft voice answered theirs. "Don't worry about me: I'm used to swords flying at my face. You, on the other hand... I think I gave you a bit of a scare, I'm sorry."

Pearl cracked open an eye. "You're... sorry?" They saw above them a great pink lady with a star shape cut out of their beautiful bright dress, in the centre of which was a rose-quartz gemstone. In one hand was a great pink shield, and the other was outstretched towards them. They were smiling gently.

"It's okay." The Rose Quartz Gem cracked a smile. "I'm not going to hurt you."


	2. That Strange Gem

Pearl stood up on their own, sweating with nervousness. They looked down to the ground "Thank you, really, but you really shouldn't be seen talking to me."

"Why?" The Rose Quartz retracted their hand, looking askance at Pearl. Then they laughed all of a sudden, a great booming sound filled the atrium with noise.

Pearl's eyes widened. There were many situations they were prepared for, but actually talking to the Gems they served was not one of them. Talking to one that appeared ever so slightly cracked, even less.

"Are you okay?!"

The Quartz wiped their eyes. "I'm sorry, haha! It's just, I forgot all about this system when I was on Earth. It was so new when I left, you see, and just seems so arbituary."

"What system?"

"The whole, you know, gem system. With... diamonds on the top, I think, right?"

"Yes." Pearl's brow creased worriedly. "Because diamonds are the flawless ones. All other Gem types have our strengths and weaknesses, and the great system they have put in place allows us to utilise them in the most efficient way possible."

The Quartz retracted the pink shield, bent down and picked up the sword Pearl had dropped. "Huh. So all pearls are naturally as good at swordfighting as you?"

"What?" Pearl shook their head, laughing nervously as the Quartz elegantly swung the sword around with one massive hand, admiring the shine. "Oh, no no no! I was just playing around with something I shouldn't have been. I'm White Diamond's pearl; I'm just a pretty servant. I-I've never picked up a sword in my life before then!"

"Then your ability makes the feat even more impressive. I especially admire your spinning slash at the end." In one move, the Rose Quartz flipped the sword and caught it just before the tip, holding the hilt out to Pearl. "I'm not sure what everybody else has been saying to you, but I can tell right away that you'd be a terrifying opponent with just a little instruction. Maybe I could teach you, sometime."

Pearl gingerly put their fingers around the grip. It was true that the sword just felt right in their hands, and-

"Rose Quartz!" A familiar voice cried, and Pearl reacted instinctively. They shoved the sword right into the pearl gemstone on their forehead, storing it for later as they turned around and smiled innocently. "What are you doing with my pearl?"

Sweating a little, Pearl shot a nervous glance at the warrior Quartz.

"White Diamond, how nice to see you again!" The Rose Quartz broke out into a wide grin. "This pearl who works for you is absolutely charming! I just couldn't stop talking to her!"

Pearl died a little inside when White Diamond looked at them. It was not a good look.

"Rose Quartz, I will forgive you. Your time away from Homeworld seems to have... changed you."

"I feel great!" Rose beamed, putting their hands on their hips. "All the life on Earth, the beauty - wait, what do you mean by forgive?"

"We have more important business to deal with." White Diamond turned. "Pearl, you are dismissed."

The tone sent chills down Pearl's spine, but Rose Quartz didn't appear to notice.

"Right. Are we going to your study? I can't wait to see how you've decorated it after all of these years! Oh, and I'll see you again, Pearl!"

Rose Quartz turned to wave at Pearl, who could only watch their mistress stop, clench their hands and continue. The two disappeared into the study, leaving Pearl alone.

The first thing they did was to wave their fist after Rose, silently mouthing all the possible euphemisms for Gem curse words they were too polite to use. Because of this mysterious Quartz, they were going to have a gem of a time trying to explain themselves to their mistress. They were already on thin ice considering how badly White Diamond wanted a replacement, and this was just going to push them off the edge.

Though, deep down, Pearl knew that wasn't the real reason they felt like calling Rose Quartz an unpolished, lumpy lod. It was just how friendly they were, how vulnerable they had made themselves, talking to a common pearl like that. That wasn't supposed to happen; whenever any other Gem besides White Diamond found themselves somehow engaged in a conversation with them, they spoke curtly and quietly, they blushed, they looked around for judging faces.

Rose did none of that. They treated Pearl like... like an equal. And for a second, just a second when they took that sword, Pearl _felt_ like an equal. And now that the moment had passed, they weren't sure whether they wanted to return to normal.

But that line of thinking was going to get Pearl shattered. They had to banish the thought; they were a servant, and the Quartz was a warrior stepping out of line. This was the way things were supposed to be.

So Pearl composed themselves, and walked back into the servant's room.

~Line Break~

The meeting continued for a long, long time. Pearl felt a warning migraine start up, so they quickly drew the sword out of their gem before it came out at a more inopportune time. Knowing no Gem besides them really entered in this way, they stashed it behind the door and listened to the soft mumble of conversation dissolve into an all out shouting fest. This was new; heated disagreements with White Diamond had never happened in all their years of service.

This Rose Quartz was truly a strange one.

Eventually, the loud argument died down and the servant's bell rang. Pearl scurried into the study, where they could see Rose and White Diamond standing behind opposite ends of the table. The Quartz' expression was savage, but the quiet fury in their mistress' face scared them more than anything else.

"My diamond," Pearl bowed deeply.

"You are on time. Good." White Diamond motioned towards the Quartz. "Show _this_ , the door."

Rose' nostrils flared. "I understand this wasn't what you wanted to hear, but-"

"Leave me." White Diamond waved their arm, looking away. "And don't talk to my pearl, or I'll know."

So Pearl and Rose walked out of White Diamond's study. Pearl watched their Quartz companion worriedly, but thankfully they did not attempt to speak. They stared sullenly ahead until they reached the door.

There they stopped, and an unreadable expression passed through their face. Pearl was about to speak up when all of a sudden they gave a rather slow and deliberate stretch.

"All that shouting has worn me out." Rose stated blandly, and Pearl saw one single brownish speck fall off their dress. "I still have to submit my reports detailing _Earthen plants and how to grow them_ to the _public Gem library_ , which will be found in _section twenty seven_." They then turned to smile at Pearl. "But that shouldn't be too hard. We just need to have a little courage."

Before Pearl could say a word, the Rose Quartz had already gone. So they looked down and picked up the speck that had been dropped on the floor. Inspecting it, they could see it was a light brown colour, shaped not quite like a common pebble. It had a darker slit down the middle, and a soft sharp point at the end of this slit.

No, it wasn't a pebble. Pearl may have been reading too deeply into this, but it seemed connected to Rose's words; they wanted them to check out their reports in the public Gem library? What was that about?

The servant's bell rang, and Pearl realised there was no time to figure it out now. Storing the brownish special thing in their gemstone, they ran to attend to White Diamond's every need.


End file.
